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PHOTOS: National Guard, federal law enforcement descend on DC in White House effort to tamp down on crime

August 22, 2025, 6:15 PM

On Aug. 11, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to federalize the D.C. police force. Since then, the city has seen the deployment of the National Guard, a sandwich-throwing Department of Justice worker, bulldozers tearing down homeless encampments and much more.

See pictures of the law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital and the responses to it.

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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington, as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, and Attorney General Pam Bondi look on. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
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A man, who was later arrested. for assaulting law enforcement with a sandwich, interacts with Border Patrol and FBI agents along the U Street corridor on August 10, 2025, in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an increased presence of federal law enforcement to Washington, DC in an effort to curb crime. (Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump holds up a chart in front of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as he speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks as Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith, left, and D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly, listen during a news conference on President Donald Trump’s plan to place Washington police under federal control and deploy National guard troops to Washington, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith listens as Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference on President Donald Trump’s plan to place Washington police under federal control and deploy National guard troops to Washington, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
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Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump’s planned use of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington, during a rally in front of the White House, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump's planned use of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington at a rally in Dupont Circle, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 7/31
Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump’s planned use of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington at a rally in Dupont Circle, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump's planned use of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington at a rally in Dupont Circle, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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In this image provided by the U.S. Army National Guard, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll speaks to soldiers and airmen from the District of Columbia National Guard at the D.C. National Guard Armory in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Sgt. 1st Class Christy L. Sherman/U.S. Army National Guard via AP)
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Free DC activists carry signs as they gather outside Washington Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Washington, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Federal law enforcement officers patrol The Wharf, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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A member of the District of Columbia National Guard puts up signs for 100% ID checks outside the District of Columbia National Guard Headquarters, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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Protesters hold signs as a volunteer, rear, helps the homeless move their things at a tent encampment, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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An activists holds a sign during a protest against President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of policing of the District of Columbia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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National Guard personnel keep watch as travelers arrive at the entrance to Union Station near the Capitol, in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Activists carrying signs pass the Washington Monument as they march to the White House to protest President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of policing of the District of Columbia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
District of Columbia National Guard soldiers patrol inside Union Station, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 16/31
District of Columbia National Guard soldiers patrol inside Union Station, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
District of Columbia National Guard soldiers patrol inside Union Station, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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Members of the District of Columbia National Guard patrol along the National Mall, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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Members of the District Of Columbia National Guard patrol in front of The Bullpen, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, right, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, center, arrive to greet members of the National Guard, at Union Station in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (Al Drago/Pool via AP)
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Hannah Hessel, Izzy, Joan and Andrew Ratner bang pots and pans on their porch in protest of President Donald Trump’s use of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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President Donald Trump speaks with members of law enforcement and National Guard soldiers, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro waits for President Donald Trump to arrive to speak with members of law enforcement and National Guard soldiers, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Members of the District of Columbia National Guard patrol Chinatown metro station in downtown Washington, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrives before President Donald Trump speaks with members of law enforcement and National Guard soldiers, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, from right, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino listen as President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Drug Enforcement Administration law enforcement officers patrol inside Union Station, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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FBI agents patrol Chinatown in downtown Washington, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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A person rallies against President Donald Trump’s use of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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Former national security adviser John Bolton waves as he arrives at his house Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
A person walks past Banksy-style posters of a protester throwing a sandwich 30/31
A person walks past Banksy-style posters of a protester throwing a sandwich on Aug. 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration has deployed federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to place the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital. A Justice Department employee who threw a sub sandwich at a federal agent in an act of defiance has turned into a city icon for protest. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at “The People’s House,” a White House immersive experience across the street from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, during a tour on Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he would fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook if she did not resign, after he excoriated her over claims of mortgage fraud. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

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